Improvement in smoothing-irons



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFicE.

MARY ANN ,n. coo1 ,l or nosroN, 1MASSAGEUsE'r'rs.

` IMPROVEMENT IN sMooTHlNc-IYRONS.

Specification forming par-t of Letters Patent No`. 5,950, dated December 5,1848. l

To all whom it 11i/ay concern..-

Be it known that LMARY ANN l5. COOK, ofv

Boston, inthe county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Flat-Irons or Sad-Irons, whereby theyma'y be used for smoothing and polishing shirt-besoins or various other articles; and I do hereby declare that the same is fully described and represented in the following specification and accompanying drawings, letters, figures, and ref erenccs thereof.

Of the said drawings, Figure 1 denotes va side elevation of one of my improved iiat-v very high gloss or polish can'only beI success-` fully orpractically effected by a small curved convex surface, one capable of retaining a suitable polishing-heat while being used. In order to glaze shirt-besoins, collars', or various other articles usually starched, it has been cus-V tomary to mix with the starch some one or more foreign substances, such as wax or spermaceti. Such additions, besides being very expensive, often operatev greatly to the injury of the linen or article covered by them; as it will readily be seentthat they must oder more or less resistance to the water afterward used in washing the said linen or ar-` ticle, and require more friction and expend-ii ture of soap and labor than would be necessary were starch alone employed.4 In order to eiectually do away with all such combinations of starch and foreign matters, and to make use'of starch only, and .to easily and readily put al high gloss, glaze, or polish on the linen or article starched, I have contrived van iron whichl shall now proceedv to describe.

In its form the lower part of it or that part which is generally heated somewhat resembles a shoe. The lower surface a, b c' d, Fig. 3, and a c, Fig. 1, is made flat or as a plane They are not well adapted to polishand has an elliptical boundary or an approximation thereto. This surface is 'used for ordinary ironing or smoothing in the same man-l ner as` we use the bottom surface of a com- The portion of the iron at and immediately surrounding the pointh is to be used for polishing. This portion is 'made con vexin shape and is tofbe highlypolished.

'rhein-ont half of the. non, ir win ne seen, j

is made very much thicker in a vertical direction than the rear half, and the handle A; instead of beingmade parallel to the bottom a c, is inclined with respect to it, as seen in Figui. The front half of the iron being made to weigh more than the rear half (thesame being to enable it to, retain -more heat or a polishing-heat, while the latter part preserves only smoothingheat) will, when the iron is lifted so as toplaee the convex part h in contact with any surface, cause an unnatural orV tedious strain on the fingers or hand and wrist-that is, providedV the handle be Yarranged parallel to the bottom a c; but if the said handle is inclined,.as seenv in the drawings, no such unpleasant strain takes place. When the inclination and the position of the polishing-convex h are so adjusted that when thesaid part his resting on any article the said handle may be horizontal or thereabout, a twofold advantage is secured-that is to say, .we not only lremove the disagreeable strainupon the hand above alluded to, but

we'have a means of readily adapting the polishing-convex to any-planesurface we desire to polish, for we have onlyA to raise the rear.

part of the iron so as to bring the handle into a horizontal position and Athis is effected. By making the frontend of the iron with the blunt nose or point e formed convex the iron is adapted 'to the smoothing of folds and gathers of a dress 'and does not leave thereon any of the iron4marks,such as is very apt t0 be produced by the common irons;

In my iron in all the parts or surfaces which are used for smoothing or polishing lhesides of the iron are made about pery pendicul'ar to the bottom smoothing-face of it, andwhere they are joined to said smoothing-face they do so by a quick oreasy curve, so as to present no angle which would be liable to produce marks or creases lin any article while being ironed.

I consider my iron to differ in the following particulars from those' previously -invented: first, in having the smoothing plane or bottom surface, the polishing-convex h, 'and the blunt convex or nose e, as combined together as above'speciied; second, in connection with the smoothing-surface and polishing-convex the front part or half of the iron is made much thicker and heavier than the rear part or half thereof, the same beingfor the objects hereinbefore specified.; third, in connection with making the front half of the iron the heaviest the handle has a peculiar inclination or Slope given to it, in the manner and for the purpose as above described; fourth, the rear halt' or part of the iron is gradually curved back and on each side toward a blunt or .rounded point or convex f, and is rounded or curved upward from the smoothing-face toward said part j', so as to render it very diiicult, if not impossible, to produceany creases or marks in the linen or article while it is being ironed. Therefore That which .I claim as my invention is An organization or combination of elementaryimprovements consisting ofthe rounded bevel of the lower and anterior part of the instrument, theincreased weight of the anterior part over the posterior part, and, lastly, the rearward pitch of the handle, as described, the said peculiar inclination of the handle being to prevent unpleasant strain upon the hand and` wrist, and for other purposes, as specified.

Ih testimony whereof I have hereto set my signature this 25thday of Februar f, A. D. 1848.

MARY ANN B. COOK.

Witnesses: l

\ R. 1I. EDDY,

CALEB EDDY. 

